How a Rapidly Changing Haredi Media Landscape Is Challenging Rabbis and Politicians Alike

Recent years have seen a surge in Haredi digital media platforms which are largely uncensored and free to tackle taboo subjects. ‘Covering things up kills people,’ says Yaakov Katzburg, the founder and CEO of Pargod, the most prominent of these new media outlets. With the rabbinical leadership losing its grip on the narrative during an election year, these taboo-breaking platforms pose a real threat to the Haredi establishment. A special Shomrim report

February 1, 2026

Haredi Leadership to Dropout Yeshivas: You Must Meet the IDF Quota

Last month, Shomrim published a financial analysis showing that, while the end of state funding has affected every yeshiva in Israel, it poses an existential threat to drop-out yeshivas, which have been unable to find alternative sources of income. Demands by the heads of these yeshivas to get a share of emergency money raised by various foundations led to a discussion at which, for the first time, the Haredi leadership intimated that it prefers to meet the quota using drop-out students than to endanger the elite yeshivas. The Haredi street is already rife with accusations: ‘They’re trying to dismantle the drop-out yeshivas, so they’ll have someone to draft.’ A Shomrim follow-up

December 31, 2025

Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Street Is Fuming as Leaders Stoke a Victimhood Narrative

With the draft conscription law rarely out of the headlines, the Haredi street is angry and, for the first time, is turning its anger on ultra-Orthodox politicians, who are worried about how this will impact their performance in the upcoming elections. Their solution: pounding the Haredi community with an old-new narrative with a new veneer: the ultra-Orthodox are the most disadvantaged group in Israel. And it seems that the street has embraced the narrative. A Shomrim report

December 9, 2025

After the Budget Axe: What Funding Cuts Mean for Israel’s Yeshivas

An analysis of the financial reports of several ultra-Orthodox yeshivas explains the ever-growing pressure over the draft issue, which came to a head in a mass rally in Jerusalem and increasingly militant comments from leading rabbis. Elite yeshivas – which raise funds through donations and hold assets worth millions – will barely feel the effect of the cuts. Intermediate yeshiva have bumped up tuition fees, which increases the burden on ultra-Orthodox families. Meanwhile, drop-out yeshivas, where around 18 percent of all yeshiva students are enrolled, will find it almost impossible to survive without government funds. A Shomrim analysis also in Mako

November 13, 2025

While Ultra-Orthodox Draft Crisis Grips Israel, The Ultra-Orthodox Street Remains Indifferent

July 20, 2025

Revealed: Haredi Education Networks Siphoned $75.5 Million from Teachers’ Pay

Under-the-table payments, unsupervised money transfers, unregulated and unlicensed schools and classrooms, refusal to pay social benefits and much more: an analysis of several lawsuits filed by teachers from ultra-Orthodox education networks provides a rare glimpse into the culture of chicanery and misuse of state funds. While the Ministry of Education and the treasury prefer to turn a blind eye, the teachers are afraid to complain. ‘It’s all very scary here.’ A Shomrim investigation, published also in The Marker

July 11, 2025

Do Not Forsake Me: The Elderly Left Behind in Wartime

An elderly woman with Alzheimer’s in a wheelchair. An old man with chronic hip pain. And even an elderly woman with a limp. For many seniors, even having to walk down two flights of stairs to the bomb shelter is too much. A Shomrim snapshot

June 18, 2025

Chabad Picks a Side: The Ben-Gvir Alliance

For years, Chabad was careful to brand itself as an apolitical movement – which has thousands of centers in Israel and around the world and a place inside the moderate Israeli mainstream – but the movement was tempted by the money, jobs and influence enjoyed by Shas and United Torah Judaism’s rabbis. Moreover, Chabad’s rightist and messianic ideology is also coming to the fore, along with an alliance with Itamar Ben-Gvir and his party. Ben-Gvir, for his part, is already counting the Haredi votes. A Shomrim report

May 22, 2025

How Sexual Abuse Is Covered Up in Ultra-Orthodox Communities

Revelations that two respected and influential ultra-Orthodox figures committed sexual assault — including against children — triggered three years of upheaval in the Haredi world. Yet, despite the turmoil, nothing has changed in how sexual abuse complaints are handled. In fact, the wall of silence appears stronger than ever. Testimonies gathered by Shomrim expose the mechanisms of silencing — and explain why so few complaints ever make it to the police

April 10, 2025

Silent Scars: The Enduring Impact of Violence in Haredi Education

Testimony from boys and youngsters who grew up in the cheders (a school for Jewish children in which Hebrew and religious knowledge are taught) and yeshivas highlights how the use of violence as an educational tool is seen as perfectly legitimate in the ultra-Orthodox education system. The ramifications of this phenomenon can last for years. The Ministry of Education which funds most Haredi schools to some extent, insists that it has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violence – but, on the ground, its presence is not felt at all. A Shomrim investigation, also published in Mako.

February 28, 2025

How Extreme Rabbis Get their Illiberal Agenda into Secular Schools

In Kiryat Ono, this happens through the "Bat Ami" service girls and the "Ma'ayanot Garin Torani”. In Ramat Gan, these are "Reut girls," and the method is the same: the national service girls, who are funded by the state, serve as a conduit for religious indoctrination in the state schools. Parents are crying out: "This is a movement whose goal is to destroy the state and establish a Halacha state in its place." A Shomrim investigation in conjunction with Mako

December 13, 2024

Revealed: How Fixers Fool the IDF into Issuing Mental-Health Exemptions for Haredi Youths

There is growing concern in ultra-Orthodox society that draft orders are on the way – leading to a spike in demand for the services of fixers who help families hoodwink the army and get mental-health exemptions. “If a young man was in Meron during the tragedy, for example, someone knowledgeable will sit with him,” one of them explains the method. “They’ll tell you which day to go to the enlistment office and when the better mental health officers are available.” A follow-up by Shomrim.

November 5, 2024

An Industry of Fake Mental Health Exemptions from Army Service is Flourishing in Ultra-Orthodox Israel

Although public discourse on equal military service for all Israeli citizens often centers on those exempted for Torah study, up to 20 percent of the exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox youths are actually for mental health issues – three times the rate found in the general population. These exemptions are facilitated by rabbis, community intermediaries, and psychiatrists, who coach the young men on how to navigate the system and provide fabricated diagnoses. In some cases, the individuals are unaware of the diagnoses assigned to them and only discover later that they were labeled with conditions such as autism or schizophrenia.

October 10, 2024

Growing Up Without Knowing You Can Be Abused: ‘I Didn’t Understand What We Wanted and Then He Started Touching Me’

Around 400,000 boys and girls are enrolled in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox education system, where there is no sex education of any kind and it does not look like there ever will be. This leads to sexual abuse and coverups, problems in adult relationships, low self-esteem and many other issues. Two young men and one young woman, who grew up in the ultra-Orthodox community, open up to Shomrim about how this has upended their lives

August 27, 2024